Members and Friends,

This morning our speaker was Tom Cilmi. Tom is running for the Suffolk County Legislature in the 10th district.

That post is now held Cameron Alden. Mr. Alden is a Republican who is leaving because of term limits. Mr. Cilmi is also a Republican.

Cilmi is a political newcomer, however he did work in the campaign of Rick Lazio in 1992. Presently he owns a small printing company which he has owned for the last 12 years. He has a fairly impressive record of community involvment and he sees governing in terms of management practices that can always be improved.

The issues of Long Island are pretty much the same whether you are Democrat or Republican according to Cilmi. Taxes, bureaucracy, public safety and protection of the environment are the issues. How we improve things is the mission.

One of the issues Mr. Cilmi spoke about was public safety. We now have fewer policemen than we have had in the recent past. He would like to augment the force since the quality of life issues require adequate policing.

Taxes and bureaucracy have a detrimental effect on business, particularly small business. The small business owner simply does not have the time or the money to wade through the labyrinth of regulations.

Ultimately we must create efficiencies rather than expect government to get smaller, in much the same way that Toyota approaches their ability to improve outcomes.

To watch a video replay, click here.